Five years ago, Nestor and Adrian Lasso took over their family farm and shifted toward specialty coffee. They partnered with Jhoan Vergara to form El Diviso, combining two family farms near Pitalito. The farm sits at 1,750 meters, spanning 14.5 hectares with shade from native trees and fruit trees.
Nestor grew up in Normandía, Huila, always connected to coffee. While traditional coffee farming is poorly paid, he discovered specialty coffee offered both economic opportunity and genuine passion. With support from Cata Export and training from Colombia's top coffee school, SENA, he learned processing, cupping, and the global market.
Through close collaboration with Cata Export, Nestor developed fermentation protocols that have made his coffees competition favorites across Europe. The processing is meticulous: hand-selected ripe cherries, 36 hours of oxidation, 24 hours of anaerobic fermentation at controlled temperatures, then carefully managed drying that includes a 60-hour rest period midway through.